Oftentimes, we admire bodybuilders and fitness models, not knowing they are dedicated to the gym. Each one of them has a past, and out of their resolve to work hard and build lean muscle, they are where they are today. One of the ways you can also walk along this path of fitness is by switching things up and escaping the confines of traditional routines and moves. There are non-traditional exercises that can greatly improve your physique and athletic performance. This is where it makes sense adding in those traditional CrossFit exercises in your routine. There are several Crossfit exercises that can potentially shock your body and push it towards gaining more muscle and shedding fat. Barbell Thruster This is one of the CrossFit exercises that touche every muscle group in your body. As a total body conditioning workout, barbell thruster demands increased energy from your body, and this goes a long way in slashing body fat. Because of this core demand, the abdominal region also benefits from a thorough workout that helps to flatten it, particularly on the mid-section. When this is combined with diet and additional cardio, getting the desired 6-pack doesn’t take long. To usher you into the thruster, load up your bar with 8 to 12 rep marks and then perform 3 to 4 sets at the end of a leg or shoulder workout. Wall Ball When beginners are introduced to wall ball in their CrossFit training program, it looks so deceiving because it seems to them that there is no magic in squatting and throwing a medicine ball up against a wall. The reality is, the medicine ball is not as heavy, but the plus to this exercise is on the movement pattern demands it imposes on your body. Once you get 10 reps, you won’t believe how your core, shoulders, and legs become taxed. If you want a great conditioning and fat loss workout, try 5 rounds of wall ball of 20 reps each and resting just 30 to 60 seconds between the sets. Overhead Kettlebell Swings Even though this exercise is known for its fat loss and conditioning potential, it is an excellent workout for your hamstrings and glutes as well. Overhead kettlebell swings tap into your muscle fibers to create an explosive component in your hamstring and glutes workouts. You can try 3 to 4 sets each containing 12 to 15 reps of this exercise to enhance your glute-ham tie-in. Box Jump This is not a new workout; it has been used by CrossFitters for quite a long time. However, it has its unique place in the CrossFit training schedule of physique-minded athletes. Just like the overhead kettlebell swing, the box jump encompasses explosive movements which most often than not excite the central nervous system. This in turn greatly improves the neural output of any lifter in the course of their strength training program. 3 sets consisting 5 reps each are recommended before hitting the weights. To add to the above physique exercises; rope climb is another magical workout. This uses the upper body to climb the rope thereby resulting into a wonderful upper body pulling exercise that works your lats, arms, back, and grip.  

If you have been faithful attending to your CrossFit workouts, you may have the feeling that you are good enough to take on your peers in a CrossFit competition. Far from the truth, the mindset of a competitor is far much different from that which you get from a daily routine. Just like any other sport, CrossFit competitions are characterized by difficulty and intensity in execution. For this reason, you have to prepare and train well if you want to do well in these competitions. Remember, unlike soccer, marathon, or a physique show, CrossFit requires mastery of lots of skills if you are to excel. For you to be good at everything, you need a big-time strategy that trains you for virtually every aspect of fitness. To start you off, consider the following. Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment No two persons can have exact strengths and weaknesses. There are those who are stronger compared to others. For instance, you may be stronger at gymnastic movements while another person can do several miles nonstop. There is no definite time you are required to spend in CrossFit training, but rather it all depends on you as a person and your skill level. There are those athletes who only spend a month doing metabolic conditioning to get to a competitive level. However, for the average person, you will need more time in preparation and training as you learn CrossFit workouts movements and solve various mobility issues. Some athletes have confessed to taking almost a whole year just reprogramming their nervous system and doing mobility work. The bottom line is you need high conditioning, strength, and skill levels for you to compete well. Enhance the Time Spent on Training As pointed above, in CrossFit competitions, you have to be good at almost everything. If you really want the prize, you need to go beyond the regular classes and practice many other movements. Talking to your coach and asking for their help in preparing you for your competition is a plus for you. Because of their experience, coaches can assist you in coming up with lifting programs that will enhance your lifting game. If you feel you need a little more help in building your endurance, a metabolic condition workout of the day thrown into your daily training regime will go a long way. Train Your Mental Game The type of training required to get you up to the competition status needs to be challenging not just to the body, but also to the mind. The length and difficulty of CrossFit workouts competitions require a mind that is prepared to go through the rigors. The stress you will go through will require more than just the physical; you need a mental edge. For instance, when you are sore everywhere, and you have a number of workouts left, you must have the mental strength to carry on. To add to the above, you should endeavor to control what you can. Do not be carried away by what your closest competitor is doing because you have no absolute control over them, but there is something you can do to enhance your performance.

Have you been doing CrossFit for a while or you want to start CrossFit training, and you are thinking of building yourself a home gym? Well, by all means taking your CrossFit experience to the next level by having your box right in your house is commendable. The only other factors you should consider apart from the space are the equipment and the cost. However, there is a caveat to building a home gym especially if you are a person who loves the community and the motivation that comes with group training. If you are a family person, it is important to involve the other members of your household as well because having a gym in your home affects them in a way. On the days when you are not scheduled to hit your regular CrossFit gym, you can utilize your home gym to work out a bit. The most important aspect is that you should ensure you use the gym and the equipment you bought.It doesn’t pay to go through the trouble and cost and then not use the gym. The Essential Items of a Home Gym If you are truly motivated and want to build the gym, then consider the equipment needed and the space in which to put up your gym. In terms of cost, data has it that you need approximately $4,000 to furnish your CrossFit gym completely. That said, about 80% of the workouts can be successfully completed by spending just $1,500. Most of your money will go to CrossFit staples such as weights and a bar. Surprisingly, the costliest items are used less frequently, and the less expensive items such as medicine balls and rings are the ones that are used every now and then. You will need a jump rope although it is not used as frequently. It costs about $13. Below is an analysis highlighting the frequency of use for the various pieces of CrossFit gym equipment. A weighted vest, bench, and 15-foot rope are used in less than 1% of the exercises. Dumbbells, kettlebells, GHD, concept2, 24-inch plyo box, medicine ball, jump rope, and ab mat are used in less than 5% of the e, medicine ball, jump rope, and ab mat are used in less than 5% of the excises. Only pull-up bars, squat stands, and bar weights are used frequently. Your approach when buying equipment for your gym should be less is more. You don’t need all the equipment for a classic high-end gym. The important things you need are: The space for the gym A pull-up bar A sandbag Barbell and bumpers for strength building Rubber flooring and a rack Even without a treadmill, a bench, plyo boxes, medicine balls, and a platform, you can still have a fully functioning CrossFit box. Music has been said to promote a good environment for you to exercise in. therefore, don’t forget your stereo system or iPod. What It Will Cost Considering the two ends of the spectrum, you can have a gym costing as much as $1,500 and as low as $150. Be practical and only go for the necessary and affordable equipment to start with. You can even improvise some of the equipment for CrossFit home workouts at no monetary cost.

The deadlift is one of the three big compound lifts and often categorized as the most challenging in CrossFit training. That said, it is also one of the workouts that is fun to do if you learn the ropes. Despite its simplicity, the deadlift is an efficient and effective exercise that helps you to build muscle fast. At the very core of it, a deadlift involves picking up of a heavyweight. If you combine a deadlift with squats, you will get one of the best WODs. This is why deadlifts are so critical despite them being challenging. If you are starting out in weightlifting or simply moving from dumbbells and machines to plates and barbells, deadlift can be understandably intimidating. The sweat, grunting, and straining makes it look so painful when you watch athletes do it. To start you off, it is important you learn the secrets so that you know where to tweak so as to get it right once and for all. It Is Everything to Do with Your Form As a beginner, you will be excused to think that deadlift is all about the weight and whether you can get it off the ground or not. However, this is not the case. According to CrossFit training, in the deadlift, the most important thing, particularly for those starting up, is getting the form down. For instance, if you develop bad form and insist that you want to continue lifting because of what you are used to, you will end up hurting yourself and experiencing a symmetrical muscle growth. If you have never seriously worked your form, you can start as early as now. There are Different Ways to Do Deadlift One thing you must appreciate is that deadlift is an extremely versatile exercise. This means you can do it in more than one way. However, in terms of variation, it is important you experiment with lots of different bars and holds so that you get what you are most comfortable with. You can start with the conventional deadlift and then throw in a trap bar or some sumo lifts. As you progress, you can include chains and bands into your CrossFit workout routine to see how well it goes. Knees, Shoulders, Hips, and Chin In the course of the lift, you have to pay attention to how your body reacts as it pulls the weight. There are certain things that according to CrossFit training must be ensured by you, such as tucking your chin to your chest and ensuring the hips and shoulders are not just working, but moving together in unity of motion. When this happens, your lift will be significantly improved, and your form will be maintained. The Mental Switch Instead of imagining that you are lifting, picture yourself using the bar simply to drive your legs across the floor. This is a mental switch which is very important in giving you a psychological advantage against the weight you are carrying. Deadlift draws so much from your mental resources, and when you are in the CrossFit gym, it is you versus the bar. Your focus should be on attempting as many reps as you can.

The fat loss game is presumed to be much simpler in that you only need to eat less in the CrossFit diet than what your body requires and it will almost switch over to fat stores for energy. The reality is that this is only part of the picture because hormonal reactions play their own role in the fat loss space. When you eat the wrong foods, you may unintentionally turn your body into a fat storage machine while you continuously feel hungry because insulin locks the glucose stores into your fat cell. Programming your body to utilize insulin much more effectively is very important because this will help improve your body composition without necessarily starving yourself. Why Insulin Sensitivity Improvement is Important When you eat a meal that has high glycemic index carbs, it makes your body to produce very high insulin amounts. According to the experts of CrossFit diet, insulin can be likened to a double-edged sword where on one side it is anabolic while on the other it is lipolytic. The anabolic side of it makes it excellent for muscle building and maintenance while the lipolytic part makes it lock glucose into fat cells thereby causing your body to have excess fat. Moderate amounts of insulin are recommended for anyone engaged in CrossFit training. However, the problem comes when your body develops a high insulin resistance, and it gets flooded with high carbohydrate, crappy diet. Cutting Out Fructose Any CrossFit athlete cannot be better off by cutting all carbs from his diet. Recent studies show that fructose, a common component of table sugar is what is responsible for insulin resistance. For you to get your way around this, try cutting out all dried fruit, table sugar, fruit juices, and always keep your fruit intake anything between 1 and 2 pieces a day. Cutting Out Trans Fats Trans fats play an inhibitive role in glucose disposal. They have also been shown to promote insulin resistance and induce abdominal obesity. The way out is to cut out anything that has hydrogenated oils or trans fats. Enhancing Omega 6 to Omega 3 Balance The delicate balance between Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids according to CrossFit diet, determines to a greater extent your overall health and specifically insulin sensitivity. Most modern diets tend to be high in Omega 6 fatty acids, but do not have as much Omega 3s. Having a good portion of fish intake, grass-fed beef and fish oil can help in readjusting the balance. Try to avoid vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil, and fried foods. Increase Your Green Tea Intake Green tea has been proven to have the capacity to divert carbs away from fat cells and towards muscle cells. This has the effect of preventing excess glucose from being dumped into your fat cells and thereafter converted to body fat. Switch to green tea and forget about your English breakfast. The last strategy is to up your cinnamon intake. Cinnamon increases cell glucose uptake and improves insulin signaling pathway within the muscles and this increases insulin sensitivity. Ensure you combine the strategies above with some strength training for outstanding CrossFit workout results.   

There is no doubt about the popularity of CrossFit. People from different walks of life and sporting background have found the CrossFit training schedule a much more beneficial regimen which helps in giving them an edge in whatever they do. That said, people come to this sport with histories of injuries, weaknesses, and flexibility issues. Most CrossFit gyms pride themselves in customizing workouts that accommodate the different ability levels and fitness backgrounds of the joining athletes. One of the basic CrossFit supplies that tend to be overlooked in some circles is the footwear. Your athletic background has a certain impact on the type of shoes you should wear in your CrossFit training. Ideally, the shoe needs to address your pertinent needs as well as accommodate higher intensity workouts. Below are some considerations you should make when buying CrossFit shoes for women. Structure One of the intense tasks your shoes will have to handle during CrossFit workouts is a rock climb. People who have mastered leg-less rock climbs are an exception to this, but for the majority, getting to the top of a rope that is 15 or 20 feet long requires a great deal of work on your upper body as well as footwork. CrossFit shoes that fit the bill here should have enough structure at the instep to help them pinch the rope in between your feet while at the same time resisting attempts of the rope digging into you. While in the store, inspect the material on the upper side of the shoe and ensure it doesn’t feel slick to the touch. Durability The trip up the rope may be hard for you, but coming down can be even harder for your shoes. The friction between the rope and the sole of your shoe will slow down your descent and give you a much safer landing at the bottom. When looking for CrossFit shoes, inspect the area around the instep where the sole meets the upper. Instead of going for a soft foam midsole, choose shoes with sticky rubber as this can resist the wear and tear occasioned by the friction between the shoes and the rope. Climate Your local climate plays a significant role in helping you determine the right shoes to buy. By nature, CrossFit workouts are not confined indoors which means you will occasionally have to go outdoors to complete your WOD. For instance, the Helen workouts come up in programming during snow storms. Therefore, you need to consider a shoe that has a good grip and traction to enable you to run in snow safely. Fitness Background If you are an Olympic lifter joining CrossFit so as to add some diversity, you may need to opt for lifting shoes which by design have a firm sole which cannot compress even when under heavy loads. If your background is running, your shoes will have to compress midsoles and much softer soles that will keep your form good during the lifts. The last consideration is a comfort. Every shoe you buy should give you comfort to do whatever exercise you want to engage in. There is nothing as hurting as wearing a pinching shoe.

Power snatch a unique snatch variation commonly used in Olympic weightlifting to enhance the strength of barbell, pulling speed, as well as the finishing height. Coaches in the fitness industry use power snatch to improve overall snatch performance and allow lifters to compete with minimal squat mobility. There are lots of benefits you can reap from power snatch amongst them: Increased Barbell Terminal Height Since power snatch doesn’t allow the lifter to take a lower catch position, he is forced to pull the barbell much higher so as to allow proper fixation underneath to support a higher receiving height. Lifters with inadequate pulling or finishing strength can benefit immensely from power snatches. Enhanced Force Production and Rate of Development Compared to the snatch, the need to accelerate maximally at both the second and third pull is much higher in the power snatch. This is because the lifter cannot squat deeply so as to receive the barbell. The increased force production, as well as the rate of acceleration of the barbell particularly at the finish of the second and third pull, will spill over to improve pulling performance and snatch abilities. An Excellent Way to Teach Beginner Lifters the Snatch Technique Coaches instruct beginner lifters in the snatchCrossFit workout commonly use the top-down method. When the beginners finally master the hang or block snatches, the coaches can then gradually move the lifters to the floor with power snatches. Following satisfactory progress in the power snatch, the athlete may then combine movements such as overhead squat of snatch balance in various complexes to progress into full snatch ultimately. A Great CrossFit Workout for Lifters with Mobility Limitations Olympic weightlifters with mobility issues are highly encouraged to constantly address them as this is one of the ways to improve. However, the body may not always cooperate. A power snatch can be an excellent variation just in case you cannot manage to perform the snatch movement. Lifters who have knee issues or those who cannot assume overhead squats can benefit from power snatch. Appropriate for Technical Training of Snatch Lift on Lighter Training Days It is not always that you will engage in intensive CrossFit training. There are those days where you just want to train light and allow for recovery. Power snatches use moderate loading, pulling height, and challenge bar speed to give you technical training of snatch lift without involving the legs so much. Developing your ability to perform the snatch movement will help improve technical mastery as well as barbell velocities. There are several different means you can integrate power snatches into your CrossFit workout. You may perform full lifts for about 80% of the time, but on lighter training days, use power snatches unless you are trying to challenge pulling speed and strength where you incorporate power snatches in heavier complexes. The needs of the athlete will determine to a greater extent how you integrate power snatches. If you are already good at power snatching, you may need to devote more time to snatching at full depth.

The power to see a race to its end comes from within. If you want to live a more excellent life, add sprints to your CrossFit training schedule to build muscle, lose fat, and improve your health. With sprinting, you can be sure that you are getting back considerably more health benefits than the effort you put in. While most people think of sprinting from the physical dimension only, it also impresses upon your psychology. Another advantage with this workout is that it takes relatively less time, but gives you lots of advantages. One thing to note is that a difference exists between high-intensity training which consists of alternative busts of intense activity and intervals of rest and all-out sprinting which majorly involves moving at fast speeds for some distance. The difference is not just in the protocols, but also in the training outcomes. The following are some of the reasons why you should also consider doing sprints. Fat Loss According to research, adding the instances of sprint CrossFit Training Schedule in repition may condition your body to produce significant fat loss within a short time. Compared to steady state aerobic training, sprints are much more effective in cleaning up body fat. Depending on your training status, protocol, and initial body composition, sprint training can cut your body fat by anything between 10 and 20% over a 12-week duration. Muscle Building and Targeting of Fast-Twitch Fibers The power of sprint training in building muscle cannot be questioned. Also, it increases the strength and size of some of the most powerful, fast-twitch fibers. Studies reveal that sprinting enhances protein synthesis pathways by a whopping 230%. Combined with the right CrossFit nutrition and recovery, muscle building happens almost naturally. Repeatedly, sprint training has been shown to enhance anabolic hormones which in turn improve body composition. For instance, some male wresters who engaged in short sprint training increased their testosterone levels while decreasing their cortisol levels. The balance between these two hormones leads to fat loss and muscle building. Enhanced Work Capacity and Endurance Compared to steady-state endurance training, sprint training has been seen to be more effective in improving endurance capacity and maximal oxygen uptake. The reason behind this is that repeated intervals done at high intensity require the body system to utilize energy more efficiently by increasing glycogen amount that can be stored in the muscles. Also, intervals in CrossFit Training Schedule, enhances the ability of the body to remove waste products during the exercise thus leading to over 50% increase in muscle buffering capacity. Improved Heart Health Based on comparison studies, that were done between endurance and interval training, it has been shown repeatedly that intervals yield better cardiovascular outcomes. For instance, a study done in 2008 showed a significant decrease in chronic inflammation which has been associated with heart function damages in people who do the sprint. Last but not least, sprinting improves your insulin sensitivity and energy usage. Some studies have shown improved blood sugar tolerance and insulin sensitivity in athletes with alternate bursts of exercises and rest periods. This is mainly because sprints reduce chronic inflammation as the body cells must adapt to efficient production and usage of energy.